Thursday, February 16, 2017

MERKEL REBELLION: Ex-minister QUITS and says embattled German Chancellor is the reason

A TOP German politician has quit Angela Merkel's party after finding out the Chancellor was running for election again.Horst Metz, Saxony’s former Finance Minister, has resigned from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) citing Mrs Merkel as the reason.
Mr Metz told the Sächsische Zeitung: "When Angela Merkel explained that she was running again (for the election), it was clear to me that I was leaving.”The veteran politician, 71, who had been a member of the party for 48 years, added: “I have the feeling that this is no longer my CDU”.
In 2002 he was appointed Finance Minister in the regional government of Saxony and served for five years.He resigned unexpectedly following the crisis with the Saxony Regional State Bank - Landesbank Sachsen - which the regional state had a 37 percent stake in - and Mr Metz was the chairman of the supervisory board.
The bank fell into financial difficulties due to poor investment decisions by a Dublin-based subsidiary of the bank, Sachesen LB Europe plc, in the US housing market.Saxony’s CDU General Secretary Michael Kretschmer said he regretted Mr Metz’s decision, saying: “I can not do much, because we are members of a party because we want to accomplish something.”
The CDU’s party membership has been dwindling in recent years.
At the start of this year it had 10,866 members, down by 1,000 compared to two years ago.Some of these are said to be “prominent party supporters”, according to local media reports.
Whilst the CDU under Mrs Merkel is still the dominant force in Germany’s ruling coalition government the party has suffered some noticeable hammer blows.Last September it suffered a humiliating defeat in the elections in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania where it trailed in a lowly third place with just 19 per cent of the vote - behind the SPD on 30 percent and the anti immigration party AfD on 21 percent.http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/768307/Angela-Merkel-Horst-Metz-resigns-veteran-CDU-party-member-Germany